help teach a novice some basics

[Powerspythons]

1.) How can I tell the sex of the snake?
2.) How long should one typically wait before offering food for the first time?
3.) When getting ready to feed him, is it normal to have to remove him from his hide or should I wait until he comes out on his own. I know from reading other posts that dusk and dawn are the best feeding times, but just need to know if its cool to just pull him out from the hide before feeding?

1. Popping is generally the most common way to do it, but probing is more accurate. It can cause problems if you do either improperly, so obviously the best way is to have someone who knows how to do it show you/teach you, but if you don't know anyone who knows how to do it properly, you can watch as many videos of people doing it(youtube is a good source for that), read as many posts as you can find on how to do it, and if you're VERY careful..you can usually figure it out...that's how I learned and all my BPs are fine(just had them all to the vet last week and I was better at popping them than the vet. LOL.) However IMO you should look really really hard to find someone to teach you before you try to learn on your own simply because of the problems that can arise if done improperly.

2. Wait a week is the general rule here..

3. I'd just leave him in his hide..some of my BPs wont even go after the prey unless they are in the safety of their hide..wave the food around the opening of the hide, if he doesnt come out after it, I tap the hide a little just to make sure he sees it, then if that doesnt work then I'll take the hide out and try again..but usually they will take it from within their hide. Also I feed my snakes in the middle of the day most often..but some prefer it at night..